The first thing we do upon arrival at Naples' airport is catch the bus to Sorrento (10€/person), which should take about ninety minutes. A short wait then we get on the bus. As the bus travels south what I see brings to mind South America with dreary apartment blocks and neglected construction projects. Through the clouds I see outlines of mountains, a promising break from the monotonous sprawl in the foreground. .

As the bus heads towards  Sorrento it hugs a rocky cliff. Here and there terraces hold olive trees with their nets strung between them. Homes seemingly drilled into cliffs perch periously over the Mediterranean. The scenery grows ever more spectacular with each hairpin curve of the road. 

I've read that Sorrento is a good place to stay and a good transit hub. 

I expect Sorrento will make a good base for exploring Naples, Pompeii and Amalfi.  It's a resort town, full of hotels and restaurants and tourists, but very charming. 

The hotel, the Marina Piccola 73, was once a coast guard station but now features nine modern rooms just steps from the water. I'm listening to the beat of ocean waves as I write. The only downside to the hotel is the long set of steps to get up to the town, but I figure the exercise is good.

The last thing we do this long first day of holiday is walk up to Sorrento to buy wine and eat pizza. The pizza - anchovies, tomato sauce, and basil - is wonderful but I expect that. Naples is the birthplace of pizza so they've had time to perfect it.

One picture was taken from the hotel room balcony looking out at Sorrento's small harbor. The other is the road to the harbor.

I've started to write a few pages on where we stayed and what we did while we were in southern Italy. To see them click the Travel Southern Italy menu item and move through the pages. They are a work in progress as are the pictures that will eventually accompany them.  

Accompanying pictures are of Sorrento, Capri, and Naples.